Hi gang, 

Well, we did it. We played our biggest show yet on Friday, opening for classic rock legends, Foreigner at the sold out, 1,200 seat Calvin Theater in Northampton.

Photo: Jodi Nicholas

Thanks to Rick Murnane for taking such great care of my stuff and keeping my guitars tuned when I wasn’t using them to rock. 

Thanks to Eric, Brendan, and all at Iron Horse Entertainment Group for adding us to the bill and treating us like rock stars. If you were there then you know the crowd was mostly in their seats and willing to listen to a band they more than likely had never heard of. And as it was they more than put up with us, it seemed like they really dug our stuff and the show we put on! So nice to see the smiling faces and hear the raucous applause. 

In fact, follow this link to see a vid of “Explain” from the show and see I’m not kidding ya.

Here is a review of the show which even includes a very cool mini-review of our set by Donnie Moorhouse of the Springfield Republican/Masslive.com

Even got to meet a bit of a hero of mine in Mick Jones, Foreigner’s founder, principal songwriter and producer. Pardon the extreme lean (always been a “leaner”) but I didn’t know they were going to take a photo and I was kind of wanting to give Mick his space. 🙂

Photo courtesy Foreigner

Special thanks to Brandon and Marian for helping out with the merch and for your words of wisdom. I even got to meet one of the most famous rock band truck drivers of all time, Carl. Keep on truckin’, Carl. Keep on truckin’. That’s about all I’m gonna say about that. 

Anyway, the show went really well, I was thanked by dozens of audience member (many of whom will be receiving this email for the first time, so thank you for signing up!) and I’m hoping this is just the beginning of things to come. 

Alex Solo Show Thursday!

Speaking of things to come, I have a solo show this coming Thursday, May 12 at Fort Hill Brewery in Easthampton. The show is free (tips appreciated) and it runs 5-7 (nice and early) so come on out and check out one of the best new breweries in the valley. 

Here are the deetz:

Thursday, May 12 Alex Performs Solo at Fort Hill Brewery, Easthampton, MA (early show 5-7)

Come check out a couple of sets of tunes from Alex’s 25 years of making music in the Pioneer Valley

When: Thursday, 5/12
Where: Fort Hill Brewery
30 Fort Hill Rd, Easthampton, MA
Directions here
What time: 5-7pm
Cost: FREE!! (tips appreciated)
This event is all ages!

Fort Hill Brewery is one of the areas best new places for fresh, craft beer made on premises. 

From their website: Our goal is to provide the Pioneer Valley with the best traditional German-style lager for a clean, refreshing taste you’ll always come back to. All of our beers follow the German purity law of Reinheitsgebot, meaning that our beers contain only four ingredients: water, malt, hops, and yeast. 

Not to mention they are the #2 thing to do in Easthampton according to Trip Advisor. 

Colorway May Dates

And our next and final two shows this month are both in the great state of Vermont. We start at the top and work our way down starting on Saturday, 5/14 with a show at The Skinny Pancake in Burlington, VT. Some of you may know that’s a special day for me and the band because it would have been my mom’s 75th birthday. She coined the phrase “The Black Sky Sequined” in a poem she wrote about me many moons ago. It’s also a year anniversary of our album release show. So this should be a special night.

If you have friends in the Burlington area why not share this Facebook Event with them? It would be much appreciated. 

And then, on Friday, May 20 we head up a ways to Brattleboro, VT to rock Metropolis on Elliot St. Bratt is a bit of an old stomping ground as I played The Common Ground, The Mole’s Eye and other various hippie hangouts back in the 1990’s-2000’s with Soup and then Drunk Stuntmen. So I’m really hoping we can find a whole mess of people who like to see original live music again. If you know anyone in the area please share this Facebook Event with them. Both shows are free.

Well that’s about it, gang. Hope to see you at some of the shows and we’ll talk about June in a few weeks. But for all our tour dates at any time check out our site right here. 

Peace, love and rock and roll,

~FAJ

Hi gang,

This is a big week for me and for the band.

Beginning tonight, Wed, 3/9 I will begin hosting a series of all ages open mic nights in downtown Florence at Brew Practitioners Brewery and Taproom. 

Here is all the info on it:

Alex Johnson has been making music in the Pioneer Valley for 25 years. In that time he has earned a reputation as one of the valleys hardest working musicians logging hundreds of shows both locally and worldwide as well as appearing on dozens of recordings. Whether as a guitarist for his old band Drunk Stuntmen, The Young at Heart Chorus, his current original rock trio, Colorway or as a solo acoustic/electric artist, Alex puts everything into his music and his performances. 

But performing is only part of the story. One can’t learn unless one listens. And listening to others play has been one of Alex’s greatest loves. So it’s no surprise that over the past 25 years he has also hosted open mic nights at The Baystate Hotel, Silent Cal’s, The Basement and The World War 2 Club, listening and learning from the seemingly endless stream of talent that resides right here in the valley. 

Beginning Wednesday, March 9 Alex will be hosting a weekly all ages open mic night at Florence’s newest addition to Main St: Brew Practitioners Brewery and Taproom. 

The night is open to anyone with a song, a story, a poem, or even a joke. Bring something to share with the crowd or just sit back and enjoy listening. 

Alex will begin each evening with a set of music and then open the mic and PA up to the house. Feel free to bring a guitar, keyboard, bass or anything you need to showcase your talent. 

Sign up begins at 6:45. Open mic 7-10pm

Brew Practitioners features some amazing on-site brewed beers as well as a selection of non-alcoholic drinks as well. 

Come be part of the Flo-renaissance!

Location:

Date: Every Wednedsay Beginning 3/9
Brew Practioners Brewery and Taproom
36 Main St. Florence, MA
Phone: (413) 584-2444
Web: http://www.brewpractitioners.com 
Time: Signup 6:45
Open mic: 7-10pm
Free
Join the Facebook event right here!

There will be a working keyboard for use as well as an acoustic guitar. If things go well this month we can keep this going through the summer and beyond. Let’s make Florence a great destination for music lovers. 
 

Saturday Night: Colorway at The Basement!

Also, this coming Saturday, 3/12 Colorway will be returning to The Basement for two full sets of our tunes. The show is free (tips appreciated) and on the early side.

When: Saturday, March, 12
Where: 21 Center St. Northampton, MA (adjacent to the new police station parking garage which you can park in for this show)
Directions here
Phone: (413) 387-6345
What time: 8pm-10:30pm
21+
How much: FREE (tips appreciated)

The Basement has a full bar for your enjoyment.

Join the Facebook event right here!

More info and full Basement schedule here.

So there you go, gang. Lots of music happening. With the spring seemingly here early (and temps to prove it) I almost don’t know what to do with myself I’m so giddy. 

I hope to see some of you at the shows. It’s a great time to make music and a great time to be alive.

And on we go . . . 

~Alex J